Lagomarsino Petroglyphs

Last weekend, the weekend of February 16, 2014 Dan, Coco and I hiked 13 miles round trip to the Lagomarsino petroglyphs. Now, we didn't necessarily need to hike 13 miles, but we were in the Subaru and we weren't sure how good the roads were.  We could have probably driven in quite a bit more than we actually did, but we were up for a big hike and some great exercise. 

Because of the sensitivity of Petroglyphs and archeological sites in general, I'm not going to posts directions to this site, however I'm sure folks who are truly interested in going can be resourceful enough to find out where they are located.  I will tell you that they are east of Reno, you know, not much of Nevada is east of Reno, right?!

Below is info I got from the Nevada Rock Art Foundation--visit them here:http://www.nvrockart.org/

The Lagomarsino Canyon Petroglyph Site is one of only eight rock art sites in Nevada to be honored on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the largest identified rock art site in the state, containing 2,229 rock art panels distributed along a quarter of a mile stretch of a fine-grained basalt cliff and associated talus. From 2003-2008 NRAF worked with Storey County, the Nevada SHPO, NRCS, the Nevada State Museum and other agencies to complete a full archaeological inventory of the site.

Here are some photos we took:

Lagomarsino Petroglyphs

Dan and coco at Lagomarsino Petroglyphs

During our hike

Dan and Coco on the edge of the world

I also so my first wildflower of the season, Lomatium nevadense

Turn, Turn, Turn, Turn....

My bowl

So, I have a new hobby.  I've been learning how to turn wood on a lathe!  I've mostly been making pens, but I made a bowl, top, honey dipper and mallet as well.  It is such a fun hobby, I'm really excited to get more into it. I'll try to post my projects as I go.  YAY!!!

Some of my pens

Highway Temptations

More Handstands in 2014!!!!

Wild Women Artists Are Back Again

It's that time of year again, the Wild Women Art Show--gotta love their name--is back in Reno. This year's theme is Regeneration:

“We have each taken the word regeneration and made it our own. We as a group choose to explore the creative, setting our goals in a positive direction. The effort in going back to our individual skills and breathing new life into what we do brings comfort and celebration in knowing that each of us uses our own hands and our own skills to create works of beauty.”
~ from the artist's statement.

The exhibit and sale will be held at the Wilbur D. May Museum from November 4th through the 6th.* We went last year and had a lot of fun. The artists were extremely friendly and interesting. We entered the raffle where you put your tickets into the box of artists you like at the end they pull a ticket from each artists box and if they pull your ticket you win a piece of art from that artist--unfortunately we didn't win. We will be in San Fransisco for the Basque Cultural Day (Nafarroa Eguna) this weekend, so unfortunately we probably won't be able to make it. But, if you can, you should check it out.

*When: Friday, November 4: 12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 5: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sunday, November 6: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Cost: Entry into the exhibit area is free

Just Another Day in the Rain!

Snow in the Santa Rosa Mountains!

Well, we did not work on weeds again yesterday. It was a fairly nasty day, it rained all morning and most of the afternoon. It even hailed on us a bit and the Santa Rosas got snow. Crazy! We can't spray when it's raining because the rain dilutes the chemical and washes it off of the plants. The plants then continue to live happy lives, growing and reproducing and our time spent spraying would have been wasted. We were going to drive out to do some weed monitoring, but Dave told us not to because apparently the roads get really bad in the rain. So, we ended up cleaning the office, working on the PDR and doing some paper work. Later in the day, however, someone tried to drive out to the wilderness area, but got stuck in the mud. The fire guys had to go rescue him--we were glad we took Dave's advice and didn't drive out.

The other day a bought a beginners acrylic paint set, just for fun. I broke it out last night and played with it for awhile. I have never really painted before, so this should be an interesting, if not comical, endeavor. I had fun mixing colors and painting simple flowers and crosses. I can't wait to play with it some more, maybe attempt a landscape or two.

My masterpiece, watch out Georgia O'keeffe!

I also bought a yoga DVD so I can get some exercise and stretching in while I'm out here. I'm such a goob though, I totally forgot that my computer doesn't have a cd drive. We bought an external one, but I didn't even think to bring it with me. Last night I got everything all ready; I had my comfy yoga pants on, I laid out my yoga pad, I had the lights nice and low and was all set to begin my new yoga routine. I pulled out my DVD and went to put it in the side of my computer--like I would on my mac--then realized "oh shit, this is not my mac, this is the pc and it has no cd drive!" Sad, sad face--I was soooooo ready to get my yoga on. Oh well, what can you do? I'll just have to bring the cd drive out with me next time. Till then yoga, till then.

Many Reasons I Love it Here,

one of which is our skies. A week ago today we had a thunder storm roll through Reno and, along with a few small fires, it gave us a spectacular show of lightning and crazy, beautiful skies. Here is just a bit of what the evening had to offer:

A New Art Endeavor

Reheating my glass

This past Sunday I took my first ever glassblowing class. I have always been interested in the art, but never knew where in Reno one could get a start. I don't even think I had ever heard of classes being offered through the university or the community college. I recently found out about a fairly new studio in Reno called Burnt Knuckle Glass that offers classes in glassblowing, torch-working, and fusing/slumping. Actually, a friend found out about them and then sent out an email asking for people who might be interested, so I jumped on the opportunity.

The class itself was a lot of fun, I really had no idea what to expect. The teachers were both extremely nice and patient with us, beginning students. The work is quite physical which I really enjoyed. To start, we learned how to gather glass from the furnace onto our poles. We did that a few times until we got the hang of it. We then learned how to bevel (I'm not sure if that's the word they used) the glass using a table. During that process, we rolled the glass on a table creating an angle or a wedge shape with the glass while pushing the glass off the end of the pole--not completely off, mind you. We also learned how to create an egg shape with the glass by beveling the bottom of the glass then lifting the pole up and beveling the top of the glass.

It's an amazing feeling to work with molten glass. When it first comes out of the furnace it is super goopy and manipulates quite easily, almost too easily for a beginner. It is interesting to work with the glass as it slowly cools and the viscosity changes. We also learned how to jack the glass to create thinner sections, the thin sections are weak and is where you break the glass off of the pole once you are done working with it. At the end of the class we used all the skills we learned to create a paper weight. I made mine yellow and purple. We had to leave it over night to set. I can't wait to see how mine turns out!

Reheating my glass in a furnace so I can manipulate it

Jacking my glass

My paperweight, still glowing hot

Thank you to my wonderful sister who brought her camera and took these pictures--I, of course, forgot to bring mine.

Euskadi: Bertsolaritza

The 2009 national competitors

I can't believe I forgot to mention the bertsolaritza in my last post (thanks Dan for reminding me). Bertsolaritza is an amazing oral art form that is Basque tradition. Sunday, the day we walked over to Zumaia, was the bertsolaritza national championship. Dan and I had first heard of bertsolaritza from our friend Javier, a incredibly nice man Dan met at the Center for Basque Studies in Reno, who lives in Getaria and who told us about the finals when we ran into him on Saturday. Bertsos are basically improvised poems or songs. The two main parts of berstos are the improvised verse and the melody by which it is sung. An officiator gives the bertsolari (the singer) a topic and and a meter by which to sing it. The bertsolari is then judged on the complexity of their lyrics and their ability to stay on meter (they aren't judged on the quality of their voice). The Bertsos can be sung by one, two or several bertsolaris. The way we witnessed it was with two bertsolari's--one bertsolari starts the poem and then the second bersolari continues it and they go back and forth until the poem is finished, it was fascinating to watch.

On Sunday (12/13/09), when we first got to Zumaia, we stopped for pinxtos and coffee at a restaurant and they had the bersolaritza on the television. It was absolutely amazing, the contest was held in an auditorium that can hold up to 20,000 people, the place was packed. It was incredible to see such enthusiasm for poetry. The berstos were beautiful to listen to. Of course, I couldn't understand a word of it, but it was amazing. I wish I could describe it, but I would not be able to give it justice, you must experience it for yourself.

We watched the competition for awhile and then headed over to the cliffs for some sightseeing. Later that night, back at the apartment, we turned on the T.V. to see if the contest was still on and it was. We watched the end of it. A woman, Maialen Lujanbio, won the national competition, a first in the long history of this unique Basque tradition. She beat out Andoni Egaña, winner of the last four bertsolaritzas. There were only 8 competitors and the contest lasted all day long, it must have been exhausting for the bertsolaris--I can't imagine.

I'm so glad we were there to witness this national tradition, it was truly a beautiful and unique experience.

Euskadi; Art and a Little Misery

So, where did I leave off?

Oh-yeah--we just rode the tram back down from the hilltop park and stopped off for some pinxtos and beer. Later that day we headed over to the Guggenheim Museum to take in some works of art. The Guggenheim is amazing, the building itself is a work of art, absolutely breathtaking. My favorite exhibit was Richard Serra's "The Matter of Time," which is an installation made up of 8 giant rolled steel sculptures. The sculptures are huge, they are made of large steel panels that have been bent and twisted. The best part, people are encouraged to walk through the sculptures so they can really experience them. Each person who goes through them adds to the art, each persons experience is different and adds something new. We had so much fun in the installation it is very powerful and beautiful. There were several other neat exhibits, the feature exhibit being Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect who designed the New York Guggenheim Museum.

The Guggenheim

Dan playing at the Guggenheim

Fun angle of the Guggenheim

After the Museum we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We ended up eating at a little spot in the Casco Viejo, not too far from the hotel. For the most part it was tasty, we had a mixed salad and white asparagus for starters and I had beef and Dan had lamb for our entrees. One thing I didn't like about my meal was that the beef was floating in a thick pepper oil. I could tell right away it was a bit too much for me, so I ate the parts that weren't quite as saturated and I let the oil drain off as much as possible before I ate it, it didn't seem to be too bad. The beef itself had a nice flavor, it was just the oil I didn't like.

Once we finished dinner, we were going to walk around for a bit and get a night cap, but I had to go to the bathroom so we went back to the hotel room. Back at the room I noticed my tummy was feeling somewhat upset, so I laid down. At first I thought the oil from the beef must have taken a bigger toll on my stomach than I had originally thought, but after awhile it seemed that it must have been more than just the oil that was upsetting my stomach. Let's just say I had a long, grueling night. By 12:30 am I had totally emptied my digestive tract of all it's contents--ugh.

With my rough night, I was pretty exhausted the next day. I was no longer emptying my digestive tract, but my stomach was still really tender. We were supposed to go on a tour with Cameron--Dan's coworker who lives in the Basque Country. I was not feeling up to it so Dan went with Cameron and I stayed in bed. I ended up sleeping pretty much all day, not the way I wanted to spend any of my days in Euskadi, but what can you do? That night Dan and I went for a walk so I could get some fresh air which felt really nice. I slept fitfully that night, but was able to sleep most of the night.

So, unfortunately my second day in Euskadi wasn't that interesting since I was stuck in bed, but at least the illness is over and it only gets better from here!!!